Construction site safety

ABSTRACT

A reinforcement bar end cap (15) comprising a hollow body which can be placed over the free end of an exposed reinforcing bar (12), the body having an impact member receiving slot or aperture (17) so that an impact member (16 ) can be adjustably located in the receiving slot or aperture adjacent the free end of the bar, in order for the impact member to take the brunt of impact from a falling person, so as to prevent impalement of a person on the bar.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to construction site safety and in particular toa method and apparatus for reducing the risk of impalement of a personfalling on exposed reinforcing steel.

BACKGROUND ART

Reinforced concrete structures are usually made in a number of stagesincluding construction of the form work, tying the steel and pouring theconcrete. In order to maintain a structural link between say,foundations and walls or floors, it is usual to "tie" reinforcing barsbetween the structures so that the bars are common to both structures.This invariably results in the bars being exposed for a period of timewhich presents an occupational hazard to workers who may fall on thebars and suffers serious injury including impalement.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to reduce the risk of impalementby providing in one aspect, a method for reducing the risk of impalementof a person falling on exposed reinforcing steel, the method includingcapping the free ends of exposed reinforcing bars with at least oneimpact member, the or each impact member being adjustably locatablerelative to the respective free ends of the respective bars so that theor each impact member takes the brunt of impact from the falling personto prevent impalement of the person on the bar.

In another aspect, the invention resides in a partially completedconcrete construction including a plurality of exposed reinforcing bars,each bar having a free end, an end cap removably located over each freeend and an impact member extending in adjustable relationship from eachend cap so as to take the brunt of impact of a falling person andthereby prevent impalement of a person on any of the bars.

In still a further aspect, the invention resides in a reinforcement barend cap when used or sold or offered for sale or hired or offered forhire, for the purpose of reducing the risk of impalement of a personfalling on exposed reinforcing steel, the end cap comprising a hollowbody which can be placed over the free end of an exposed reinforcingbar, the body having an impact member receiving means so that an impactmember can be adjustably located in the receiving means adjacent thefree end of the bar, in order for the impact member to take the brunt ofimpact from a falling person, so as to prevent impalement of a person onthe bar.

The end cap can be of any desired shape and is preferably arranged sothat the free end of the reinforcing bar is aligned with or in contactwith the impact member so that when a person falls upon the impactmember, the impact member engages with the bar so that the responsiveforce cf the bar is delivered directly or indirectly to the impactmember. Advantageously, the hollow body includes a self-centering meansin order to center the bar relative to the impact member. Theself-centering means is preferably a tapered internal neck adapted to"wedge fit" over the free end of the reinforcing bar. Advantageously,the tapered internal neck is tapered sufficiently so that an end cap cancater for a number of different diameter bars. Alternatively, the endcap can include centering flanges, shoulders or stops or any othersuitable means for locating the free end of the reinforcing bar in apredetermined attitude relative to the impact member.

The end cap preferably includes an upper surface free of any projectingportions which, in use, is likely to increase the risk of puncture ofthe eye of a person falling on the end cap. Advantageously, the uppersurface is generally convex presenting an upwardly curved or domedsurface.

The impact member receiving means can be a through hole or a slot of anysuitable cross-sectional which allows for adjustable movement of theimpact member relative to the cap. Advantageously, the hole or slot ispreferably a transverse hole or slot relative to the longitudinal axisof the reinforcing bar so that the impact member and the end cap form agenerally T-shaped structure in cross-section. Where a slot is employed,it is preferable that the slot is so sized as to allow insertion of theimpact member into the slot using a hand insertable clip action whichcauses resilient movement of the slot to clip the impact member inplace. The slot can be located anywhere on the cap but is preferablylocated in an upper surface. The impact bar receiving means can be keyedto the shape of the impact member so that, in use, the reinforcing baris automatically located in a predetermined position relative to theimpact member.

The impact member can be of any shape or configuration so as todistribute impact over a larger area than would be the case for thesingle end cap or for the exposed reinforcing bar. Preferably however,the impact member comprises a removable rigid rod or bar along which thecap can slide to a predetermined position. In this way, a plurality ofcaps can be located on a single impact bar in order to cap a pluralityof spaced exposed reinforcing bars.

The partially completed concrete construction can represent any stage ofconstruction where injuries may occur. For example, the construction canbe at the stage of form work prior to pouring, where reinforcing is tiedthereby exposing the free ends of reinforcing bars in a situation wherea person could be injured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention can be more readily understood and be putinto practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanyingdrawings and wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views illustrating concrete constructionsemploying the method of the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are typical examples of the application of the presentinvention to single reinforcing bars;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through a reinforcement bar end cap ofthe type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the relationship betweenthe reinforcement bar and an impact member;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating how the end caps of FIGS. 1and 2 can be stacked;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an alternative end capsuitable for use in the method of the present invention;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are respective plan, side and inverted plan viewsillustrating a preferred end cap according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view from below of the end cap FIGS. 8 to 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view from above of the end cap illustrated inFIGS. 8 to 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view illustrating a further embodiment of a capaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are perspective views from above-and below respectivelyillustrating a further embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 16 and 17 are sectional views illustrating more detail theembodiment of FIGS. 14 and 15.

METHOD OF PERFORMANCE

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2 whichillustrate concrete constructions 10 and 11 respectively. Theconstruction 10 of FIG. 1 is prior to pouring concrete aboutreinforcement bars 12 and includes form work in the form of plywoodboxing 13 whereas in FIG. 2, the construction 11 represents a concreteconstruction after the concrete has been poured and the form work hasbeen removed to reveal a block 14 of concrete With protruding bars 12.

It will be appreciated that Without the present invention the bars 12would normally be exposed and should a person fall upon the exposed bars12, the person would be impaled upon the bars 12.

As the method of the present invention has been employed in each ofFIGS. 1 and 2, each of the exposed reinforcing bars has been cappedusing removable reinforcement end caps 15 which in the illustratedembodiment are bridged by impact members in the form of horizontalreinforcing bars 16 which pass through holes 17 in the end caps 15. Thefree ends of the bars 16 can be turned over or otherwise bent to improvesafety.

The end caps 15 are free to slide along the bars 16 through the holes 17so that they can be located at any appropriate spacing suitable toaccommodate the spacing between the upstanding reinforcement bars 12.Thus, the system has complete adjustability to suit varying conditions.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate application of the present invention to aplurality of spaced reinforcement bars whereas FIGS. 3 and 4 illustratetypical arrangements suitable for single reinforcement bars 12. Likenumerals have been used to illustrate like features. The end capillustrated in FIG. 3 is the same end cap as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2. However, the impact member in this case is a curved length of bar 18which can be completely removed from the end cap 15 through the hole 17.

In the case of FIG. 4, the end cap 19 includes an additional throughhole 20 and the impact member is in the form of a rectangular link 21and due to the resilience in the link 21 and the resilience in the endcap 19, which in this case is made from plastics material, the free endsof the link 21 can be "clipped" in and out of the through hole 20 inorder for the end cap 19 to be removed from the link 21. The long sideof the link 21 in this embodiment is approximately 30 cm in order todistribute the impact of a falling person over a relatively large area.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated the relationship between anupstanding reinforcement bar 12 and a typical impact member 16 for anend cap 15 of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. As can be seen, theend cap includes a base 22 and a tapered internal neck 23 so that thefree end 24 of the bar 12 wedges against the internal neck 23 of the cap15. This serves as a self-centering feature so that the free end of thebar 12 is aligned with the bar 16. In this way, the force of a personfalling upon the impact member 16 will be delivered directly on to thefree end of the bar 12. This therefore, prevents the free end of the bar12 from accidentally sliding beyond the impact bar 16 and impaling thefalling person. As can be seen, the taper on the internal neck of thecap 15 can range over the length of the neck from between 2 mm to 5 mmdepending on the degree of taper and accordingly, a cap can beconveniently suited to a range of bar diameters over approximately a 5mm range.

It is therefore envisaged, that three cap sizes be applicable to generalapplication of the present invention to the standard range ofreinforcement bars that are available. For example, a cap having basediameter of 16 mm inside diameter and tapering to an inside diameter of5 mm would be suitable for 6 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm outside diameter bars,while a cap having a 24 mm inside diameter tapering to a 12 mm insidediameter would be suitable for 16 mm and 20 mm outside diameter bars.For larger bar sizes having outside diameters ranging from 24 mm to 36mm, a cap having an inside diameter of 39 mm and tapering to an insidediameter of 23 mm would be suitable.

The caps are suitably designed so that they are stackable for easytransport and as can be seen in FIG. 6, it is preferable that caps bedesigned to stack fairly securely together and due to the taperedinternal neck, this is possible. It is advantageous that the exteriorthe cap tapers to a certain degree as well so that the caps themselvescan wedge into a stacked arrangement as illustrated in FIG. 6 so thatthey can be carried around a construction site as a fairly secure lengthof caps.

While the caps illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6 have a self-centeringtapered internal neck, there are of course other arrangements which cansuitably locate the impact member relative to the free end of an exposedreinforcement bar when the cap is located in place. One example isillustrated in FIG. 7 wherein in this embodiment, the end cap 25includes internal centering flanges 26 which taper toward the end 27 ofthe cap 25 so that again, the reinforcement bar 12 can wedge in positioncentrally below the impact member.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 13, additional embodiments are illustrated,there is illustrated a reinforcement bar end cap 28 having a hollow stem29 and a dome-like cap 30 over the stem 29 and a transverse through-hole31, which is elongate in shape, is provided in the stem so that arocking action can be employed to facilitate movement of the end cap 28along a bar inserted through the through-hole 31. The shape of thethrough-hole 31 also serves to key an impact bar of predeterminedcross-section into a predetermined orientation with respect to the endcap.

The through-hole 31 has a keying effect as long as it is employed with asquare bar which has a width approximately equal to the width of thethrough-hole. Thus, the impact bar cannot be inadvertently located onits edge.

Referring to FIG. 13, there is illustrated a further embodiment wherethe end cap 32 is shown in place on a reinforcing bar 33, the free endportion 34 of the bar being shown in phantom. An impact bar 35 is shownin position and as can be seen, the through-hole 36 and impact bar 35are of rectangular cross-section so that the impact bar is "keyed" sothat its broadest face is presented to the free end of the bar 33.

Referring now to FIGS. 14 through 17, there is illustrated a furtherembodiment of the present invention wherein an end cap 37 has a hole inthe form of a transverse slot 38 having a narrow neck 39 in a dome-likecap 40 attached to a stem 41 so that a bar 42 can be forced through theslot 38 using a hand insertable clip action which causes resilientmovement of the cap 40 as depicted by the arrows 43 in FIG. 17.

It will be appreciated that the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 14through 17 can be used in all the applications illustrated in relationto the previous embodiments but has the advantage that the cap 37 neednot be threaded onto the impact member from a free end thereof. In theembodiment of FIGS. 14 through 17, the free end 45 of the bar 44 and thebar 42 are separated by a bridging piece 45 of material which is undercompression during impact if a person falling on the bar 42 or on thecap 37. Under this arrangement, it is unlikely that the cap would bedamaged significantly during impact. Likewise, it is unlikely that thebar 44 would pass beyond the bar 42 under the impact of a person fallingupon the arrangement as illustrated. In FIG. 14, the bar 42 has beenomitted for the purpose of illustrating the interior of the slot 38. Inaddition to the above features, the embodiment illustrated includesself-centering flanges 46 which are tangentially set so that bars ofvarying diameter can be accommodated and automatically centered.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of thepresent invention, there will be many other arrangements of caps andimpact members and modifications thereto which will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A method for reducing the risk of impalement of a personfalling on free ends of exposed reinforcing bars, the method includingcapping the free ends of exposed reinforcing bars with a bar end caphaving an impact member receiving means for adjustably locating animpact member in the receiving means relative to the respective freeends of the respective bars whereby the impact member takes the brunt ofimpact from the falling person to prevent impalement of the person onthe bar.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the impact memberis coupled to a reinforcement bar using a reinforcement bar end cap, theimpact member being detachably secured to the end cap by a handinsertable clip action.
 3. A partially completed concrete constructionincluding a plurality of exposed reinforcing bars, each bar having afree end, an end cap removably located over each free end and an impactmember extending in adjustable relationship from each end cap so as totake the brunt of impact of a falling person and thereby preventimpalement of a person on any of the bars.
 4. A partially completedconcrete construction according to claim 3, wherein the end cap includesa slot and the impact member is secured in the slot by a hand insertableclip action.